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INTRODUCTORY GAME

For those who are new to Avalon H i l l games

- READ THIS FIRST


MORE THAN TWO UNITS PASSING THROUGH
A SQUARE

The lntroductory Game i s a simplified version of


the usual Standard Game. Read the Standard Games
rules. They all apply except for the following modifications;
1. Ignore the sections i n the Standard rules concerned with RAILROADS, FORTIFICATIONS,
SUPPLIES and REPLACEMENTS.
2. For the initial setup of forces both sides
refer to Page 31 of the Battle Manual. Use
this ORIGINAL MOBILIZATION for setting up An unlimited n u m b e r of units m a y p a s s through a s q u a r e
i n a n y one move a s long a s no m o r e than two c o r p s S T O P
your units.
o n t h a t s q u a r e in t h a t move.
Play the game slowly and carefully at first, referring - back -to the ~ta-ndardGame rules and the
MOVEMENT ALONG BORDER SQUARES
EXAMPLES OF PLAY below as you proceed. Once A unit d o e s not violate a c o u n t r y ' s b o r d e r a s long a s
you have mastered the lntroductory Game go on to the unit t r a v e l s along and not through the b o r d e r s q u a r e s .
the Standard Game and then, for even more realism
and challenge, the Advanced and Historical Simulation game shown i n the Battle Manual.

INTRODUCTORY GAME EXAMPLES O F PLAY

Along the b o r d e r s q u a r e .

T h e t h r e e 7 - 1 2 - 3 ' s m a y , in t h e i r turn.
a t t a c k the 6-10-3. (See Combat P r o c e d u r e i n the C o m b a t R e s u l t s Table. )

MOVEMENT FACTORS LOST WHEN PASSING THROUGH


TERRAIN FEATURES

(The effect terrain has on movement and combat can


be ignored in any of the games a t players' option.)

THROUGH the b o r d e r s q u a r e .

This i s the Upside of the Slope.. .Attacker


h a s h i s Attack F a c t o r
I
cut in half if

.. .

Attacker's
Attack F a c t o r

Not a
Ridge Square
Move 1-Unit m u s t s t o p o n the
r i v e r s q u a r e a s i t m u s t have a n
extra movement factor to lose
when going f r o m a r i v e r to a
non-river square.

Move ,?-Unit now m o v e s f r o m t h e


r i v e r to t h e n o n - r i v e r s q u a r e a n d
t a k e s t h e m a n d a t o r y one m o v e m e n t
f a c t o r loan.

Defender m u s t be ON the Ridge Square in


o r d e r to take advantage of the upside of
the Ridge's Slope.

In the I n t r o d u c t o r y G a m e the A l l i e s m a y e n t e r B e l g i u m two m o v e s a f t e r the G e r m a n s do.


F o r e x a m p l e : if the G e r m a n s e n t e r o n m o v e # 1, the A l l i e s m a y e n t e r o n m o v e # 3

STANDARD GAME E X A M P L E S O F PLAY

SUPPLIES

Unit i s s u p p l i e d , i t is within t h r e e s q u a r e s of a r a i l r o a d
square.

Unit i s NOT supplied, t h e r e i s a n e n e m y unit i n the


way thus f o r c i n g t h e unit to go m o r e than t h r e e
s q u a r e s f o r supply. T h e r e f o r e , t h i s unit i s not
supplied.

HOW T O DESTROY F O R T S
G e r m a n s m a y u s e the S i e g e A r t i l l e r y
T a b l e t o d e s t r o y a l l f o r t s in o r on the
s i d e s of a s q u a r e with one a t t a c k

WHEN A FORTRESS IS DESTROYED T H E ENEMY UNITS


S T I L L IN I T A R E CONSIDERED T O B E IN O P E N TERRAIN.
K E E P A RECORD O F F O R T ( S ) DESTROYED

French may not enter Belgium until the 2nd move* following the destruction
of Liege Forts o r the German crossing of the Meuse south of Liege.

DISTANCE WITHIN OR FROM A UNIT

Within one s q u a r e
of the o t h e r unit.

Within two s q u a r e s
of the o t h e r unit.

Within t h r e e s q u a r e s
of the o t h e r unit.

One s q u a r e a w a y
f r o m the o t h e r unit.

Two s q u a r e s a w a y
f r o m the o t h e r unit.

T h r e e s q u a r e s away
f r o m the o t h e r unit.

*Recreates mistaken F r e n c h belief that Germans did not have enough troops
(Optional with Standard Game as per Historical
to come through Belgium.
Commentary in Battle Manual. )

INSTRUCTIONS- READ FIRST


STANDARD
DESCRIPTION OF PLAY
The object of 1914 i s to obtain more "victory" points than
the other side. These points and what they represent are shown
on the back of the MOBILIZATION CHARTS. They stand for
each side's ability to wage war. To s e e a t a glance how to use
the MOBILIZATION CHART you should first refer to the
INTRODUCTORY GAME CARD which contains graphic illustrations of how to s e t up the game for play. Once you have a
good idea of how to play you should proceed to punch out the die
cut UNIT COUNTERS and place them in the appropriate boxes
on the UNIT COUNTER CIIART. These unit counters represent
the armed forces of both sides. Now, taking the appropriate
u n i t counters from the unit counter cards, s e t up units on the
mapboard according to the locations secretly marked by each

GAME
side on their mobilization charts. Play then begins with each
side taking turns in which they first move and then, after
having moved all of their units they wish to move, attack whichever enemy units they find themselves next to and wish to
attack. Since each unit has a numerical value for attacking and
defending you merely compare the value of the attacker and
defender and then, referring to the COMBAT RESULTS TABLE.
roll the die and s e e the outcome of the battle. If one side or
the other sustains l o s s e s this i s reflected by replacing the
depleted unit with one of similar s i z e but lesser combat value
from the unit counter card. Play proceeds for 12 complete turns.
After the twelfth turn play stops and the number qf "victory"
points each side h a s received i s added up and the winner
decided. Details of play now follow:

NOTE: For tips on how to best use your units in the game
see the STRATEGY & TACTICS section in the Battle Manual.
Also read these rules over a t least twice to make sure you have
a firm grasp of the game. Refer to the INTRODUCTORY GAME
CARD for graphic examples of setting up and playing the game.

MAPBOARD
The mapboard shows the area in which the campaign of
1914 was fought. A hexagon grid has been superimposed to
determine movement. These hexagons will hereafter be referred
to a s "squares". The effect of most of the more imp6rtant
mapboard features has been shown on the mapboard itself.
Other mapboard features are described below.
RAILROADS - Thin red lines running from square to square.
Units using speeded up railroad movement travel along these
lines.
BORDERS - Thick black lines broken up by dots and
spaces. A unit has "violated" a border when it has moved
across it, not merely along it. Moving alongside border squares
i s permitted and is not considered a "violation" of the border.
ISLANDS - Bodies of land (in Holland) surrounded by
water. No units may move to them.
MOBILIZATION SQUARE - These are squares which
correspond to the numbered squares on the Mobilization Chart.
On the mapboard not all of them have been numbered. They are
there to assist the player in placing his units onto the mapboard EXACTLY a s he has them shown on his Mobilization
Chart.
CITIES - A dot in a square (some are dots with circles
around them) indicate a major city. The name i s written nearby.
Cities change hands when enemy units pass through them.
Cities have no effect on movement or combat.
ECONOMIC SQUARE - These squares, which are indicated
by the presence of a crossed hammer and pick symbol, represent territorial objectives for the victory conditions. They
change hands when enemy units pass through or occupy them.
GRIDCOORD~NATES - The letters and numbers on the
board edge help pinpoint locations. For example: Paris is N 18
Brussels i s Y10, Verdun i s DD23, Sedan is BB20 and so on.

UNIT COUNTERS
The die-cut square counters represent the units which took
part in the actual campaign. These pieces will hereafter be
called "units". The blank units are for making up additional
replacement counters should you need them.
ATTACK FACTOR - Value of unit when attacking. Cavalry
units have no Attack Factor in the Standard Game. These units
are shown with parenthesis around the Attack Factor. For example; (7)-3-4 (British cavalry division).
DEFENSE FACTOR - Value of unit when defending.
MOVEMENT FACTOR - Maximum distance a unit may move
in one turn. Unit does not have to move its maximum factor each
turn and may move l e s s or not a t all. Each square moved equals
one movement factor.
TYPE OF UNIT Infantry
Artillery

IXI

Other unit type symbols are shown in the Battle Manual

6
buorlb
~0.mA Cf
Size o f Unit Corps)

Unit Designation
(prussion

Attock Factor

h p e of Unit (Infontv, A c t i v d

(7)

Movement Factor

(3 squares
Defense Foctor

(12)

per turn)

SIZE OF UNIT - xxx-Corps, xx-Division, x-Brigade, 111-Regiment, 11-Battalion.


NATIONALITY OF UNIT - Feldgrau (grey-green)-German;
red-French; Khaki (brown)-British, Dutch; blue-Belgian.
Units will frequently be referred to by their Attack-DefenseMovement factors. For example, the above unit would be
referred to a s a "7-12-3". German heavy artillery units are
referred to by caliber, i.e. - 305, 420, 210.

PREPARE FOR PLAY

STEP 1 Lay the mapboard out on a table. Seat the German


player on the EAST side of the board and the Allied player on
the WEST side.
STEP 2 -Punch out the unit counters and place them in
the designated spaces on each player's Unit Counter Chart.
STEP 3 - Place Dutch and Belgian units on the board.
Belgian units are placed accordingly. One 6-8-2 in Brussels
and one in Ghent. One (21-1-3 in BNssels. One 3-42 and 1-1-2
each in Namm and Liege. Dutch forces are deployed by the
French (Allied) player any way he wishes a s long a s the
Dutch Army (4,3-4-2's and $(I)-1-3) is placed on the board,
within Dutch territory and a t least two squares from the edge of
the board and not on the border squares.
STEP 4 - THIS IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT MOVE IN THE ENTIRE GAME. Each player takes a
Mobilization Chart and marks secretly, in pencil or pen, the
initial location of the forces available to them. The forces
available to each side are shown on the Mobilization Chart
under the FORCES AVAILABLE-STANDARD GAME headihg.
The following restrictions must be adhered to when deploying
units.
ALLIED - One 6-9-3 must be in each of the fortified
squares of TOUL, BELFORT, EPINAL & VERDUN.
GERMAN - One 3-4-2 each must be in METZ & STRASS
BURG.
STEP 5 - Both sides now place Mobilization Charts in view
of each other and place units on the board EXACTLY a s shown
on their eharts. Play begins on August 14th. Each side may
set up the other's units or simply check their opponent's s e t up
for accuracy.
NOTE: See the ORIGINAL DEPLOYMENT on the INTRODUCTORY GAME CARD. Units may be placed anywhere on the
board behind or on the mobilization squares. They may move by
railroad in their first move if they meet all other railroad
movement conditions.

HOW TO PLAY
The Standard Game begins on 14 August. Each "turn" of
the game follows the following routine.
STEP 1 - The German player checks the Time Record to
see if he i s to receive any reinforcements this turn. If so, he
places them in the indicated location. If he has any units in
position to receive replacements he may now add them and
make the appropriate unit counter substitutions.
STEP 2 - German player now moves all of his units on the
board that he chooses to move. No Allied movement i s allowed.
Also German units which received replacements in this turn
may now move.
STEP 3 - All battles the German now wishes to initiate ot
continue are resolved one at a time. If any Allied units are
forced back, units in the attacker's square may move into the
vacated square.
STEP 4 - The Allied player now consults the Time Record
to see if he i s to receive any reinforcements this turn. If so
he brings them into play i n the same manner a s the German
player. The same applies for replacements.
STEP 5 - The Allied player now moves all of his units on
the board that he wiahes to move. No German movement i s
allowed. Allied units which received replacements this turn

may also move.


STEP 6 - All Battles the Allied player now wishes to
initiate or continue are resolved one a t a time. If German units
are forced back units in the attacker's square may move into the
vacated one.
STEP 7 -The Allied player then checks off one turn on the
Time Record and play reverts to STEP 1. This cycle is continued and repeated for the remainder of the game.

BELGIAN NEUTRALITY
Belgian or Dutch forces may not be moved unless their respective territories are invaded. French forces may not enter
Belgium until Liege is taken or the Meuse i s crossed by the
Germans. The BEF may not land in France until three moves
after the Germans invade Belgium. Therefore, if the Germans
invade Belgium on move 1, the BEF lands on move 4. If the
Germans do not invade Belgium by move 9 the BEF may land
on move 10. The Germans, of course, may still invade Belgium
after move 9.

HOW TO WIN
Victory is based on a point system. Each side obtains
points for being in possession of certain terrain features by the
end of the Standard Game (September 12). The Allies also
obtain extra points if the Germans invade Belgium, Holland or
Luxemburg. Both sides obtain extra points for destroying their
opponent's units. The system is laid out in detail on the back
of the mobilization chart. When the game ends both players
independently tally up their points.Victory, such a s it is, falls
into three categories.
DECISIVE.VICTORY - One side obtains a t least five times
a s many points a s the other. For the Germans this would mean
an excellent chance of ultimate victory within two or three
years. For the Allies it could well have meant ultimate victory
in less than a year.
TACTICAL VICTORY - One side obtains at least twice a s
many points a s the other. Should the Germans obtain anything
less they would stand little chance of eventually winning. The
German's won the original campaign in this manner (125-61).
A Tactical Victory by the Allies would practically eliminate
any chance of ultimate German victory.
MARGINAL VICTORY - One side receives'more points than
the other. A victory such a s this for the Germans merely staves
off certain defeat for a few years. A victory such as this virtually assures the Allies eventual victory.
As you can see from the above, one can win the battle and
lose the war.

HOW TO MOVE UNITS


1 - In any turn you may move all your units on the board.
n
.~,~.--.
: - ~ L - xou may move unirs in any airecrion or comoinarion 01
directions you wish in the same turn.
3 - Unlike chess or checkers you may move all units you
choose to move before resolving any battles.
4 - You may not move your units on top of or over those of
your opponent.
5 - Movement factors are not transferable from one unit to
another nor may they be accumulated from one turn to the next.
6 -You are not allowed to move units onto or through
squares that contain the grid coordinate numbers.
7 - Germany MAY invade Belgium, Holland or Luxemburg.
The Allies MAY NOT. Neither side may invade Switzerland.
8 - If Germany invades Belgium or Holland the Allied
player may move these countries'units. The Allied player also
moves British units.
9 - You may move your units onto or over friendly units.
-7

~ 2 .

-~~

THE DIE IS USED


..."NOTE:
..--.*-..-- -- ..----

1:

-A.

~-

- -

-,?

TO RESOLVE COMBAT. IT

---*--..----

MOVEMENT AFTER COMBAT


This is covered on the Combat Results Table under
ATTACK PROCEDURE.

RAILROADS
The units' movement factors reflect a unit's ability to march
by foot. Movement can be speeded up considerably by using the
railroads (red lines on the mapboard). To move units by railroad the following procedure must be followed.
STEP 1 - The corps (or its equivalent) i s the largest unit
that may be moved by railroad on one square. Move the unit to
be moved to a railroad line. The railroad line must be more than
one square l?om the nearest enemy unit.
STEP 2 - On the FOLLOWING move (after reaching a
square with a railroad line on it) the unit may move at the rate
of 15 squares per turn (for Allied units) or 25 squares per turn
(for German units). Movement must be along the red railroad
lines. No movement is allowed if an enemy unit comes within
one square of a railroad square on which you wish to move.
STEP 3 - When you wish to stop railroad movement you
must wait until the next turn before resuming regular movement
(off the railroad lines).
RESTRICTIONS TO RAILROAD*MOVEMENT - No two
units may use the same railroad square in the same turn, except
where two lines cross. French railroads may allow no more than
two corps (or their equivalent) to be moved on their lines in any
one turn. No more than two corps (or their equivalent) may be
IN movement during any one turn. A unit cannot combine railroad and regular (movement factor) movement in the same turn.
The Germans may move THREE corps (or their equivalent) by
railroad in any one turn. Same restrictions a s the French. The
Belgians may move no more than ONE corps per turn on their
railroads. Only Germans may use German railroads. Only Belgians may use Belgian railroads. Only French and British may
use French railroads. Only Germans may use Luxemburg railroads. If you have two parallel railroad lines running through
the same square you may double (to two corps) the load carrying capacity of that square. The Rhine river railroad squares
are an obvious example.

HOW TO HAVE COMBAT


This i s covered on the Combat Results Table

MORE THAN ONE UNIT PER SQUARE


Actually, you may pile ag many units a s you wish into one
square. However, if this square is attacked only one of these
units (a corps or its equivalent) may defend. During movement
you may have only TWO corps move into a side of one square
and STAY in that square. Any number of unite may move
through a side of a square and keep moving on to another
square. In rough terrain and forests only ONE unit may move
through a side of a square and remain in that square. For all
practical purposes, then, you may have only two corps per
square during movement on open terrain (only ONE under other
conditions).
1 - When two or more units attack one square all the factors
of the attacker must be combined into one attack factor.
2 - When there are more than one defending units on a
square (totalling no more than the equivalent of a corps) all the
factors of these defending units must be combined into one
defense factor.
3 - The combat factor of a unit may not be split and applied
to more than one battle.
4 - No unit, attacking or defending, can fight more than
one battle in any one player's turn.

THE CORPS (OR ITS EQUIVALENT)


Reference i s often made to the "corps"

in regard to the

maximum number of units you may move, attack or defend with


for each square. Whenever we mention corps, with the words
"or its equivalent" often added, we mean the standard corps
of the period which invariably contained two divisions or four
brigades or a combination of division and brigades. Therefore,
whenever we mention "corps or its equivalent" or "corps" we
mean one corps = two divisions = four brigades or artillery
units (regiments, brigades or battalions). Thus two corps could
actually be one infantry division, one cavalry division, one
infantry brigade, twvo heavy artillery brigades and one 305
artillery unit. If all these units were to move together they
would have to move at the rate of the slowest unit. Of course,
the faster units in the stack may continue on their way after
splitting away from the slower moving units.
Corps, divisions, brigades, regiments or battalions may not
be combined or broken down into new units. For example, a
corps may not be broken down into twvo divisions nor may two
brigades be combined to form a division. Units may b e reduced
in STRENGTH through the "step" system but never in SIZE.
A corps i s always a corps no matter how weak it may become.
Khen finally destroyed i t i s destroyed a s a corps.

Each of the diamond shaped forts has a "built in" garrisou


with artillery and enough supplies to keep them going for the
length of the game. Fdrts may be attacked and destroyed in
two ways.
INFANTRY attack-Each fort must be attacked and destroyed individually. Each fort has a defense factor of 14. When
infantry units attack forts they suffer casualties according to
the Combat Results Table. The forts, however, are only destroyed when a "1" is rolled. When all of the forts on a side of
a square have been destroyed enemy units may enter the square
and attack the remaining forts from the inside. Needless to s a y
this form of attack i s quite costly and should be avoided if at
all possible. If there are enemy infantry units in the fortification square they cannot be attacked until at least one side of
the fortification square they are in has been cleared of forts.
ARTILLERY-INFANTRY attack-Only the Germans have
the heavy artillery to handle this sort of attack. In attacks such
a s this a simultaneous attack by infantry and heavy artillery
is made on ALL of the forts in a fortification square. You roll
the die once for the siege artillery-consult the Siege Artillery
Table. Use the results of that same roll of the die for the infantry unit (which must have a t least two steps in it) and consult the Combat Results Table. For this attack the entire
fortress zone has only 14 defense factors. If there is also an
enemy infantry or cavalry unit in the fortified area a second
infantry unit must join the attack and separately attack the
enemy units in the fortress. This additional attacking unit,
unlike the previously mentioned artillery and infantry unit, may
attack from a separate square. It may attack from the same
square a s the siege artillerylinfantry assault force. In this
type of assault ALL .of the forts in or on the sides of the
square being attacked are destroyed in a successful attack
even though only one side of the fortified square i s attacked.
German "A" corps have 150mm artillery attached to them.
Therefore they may assault fortified zones without using additional infantry, unless there is an enemy unit in the fortified
zone in which c a s e additional infantry units will be needed.
A unit that stays in a fortified zone (or a square containing
a detached fort) cannot be cut off from supplies a s long a s the
forts are undestroyed. Until they can establish a normal supply
line they may not go more than one square from their fortified
zone.

SUPPLY
To maintain its strength a unit must be able to trace a rail
line back to its home country. French units must be able to

trace a rail line bach to either the south or west edge of the
board. The Germans must be able to trace a rail line back to
the e a s t edge of the board.Units must be within3 squares of the
railroad square from which they began tracing their supply line.
An enemy unit occupying any part of this line cuts the unit off
unless there are alternative lines available. Supply lines may
not be traced through enemy held territory or unconquered
neutral countries. Enemy rail lines are "captured" by passing
through them.
Any units more than three squares from the railroad square
from which they begin tracing their supply line or any units
without a continuous supply line lose one step for each turn
they are without supplies. If, after your opponent's move you
find some of your units without supply you must either reestablish your supply line in your turn or, on the next turn and
in each succeeding turn that your units' lack supply, each
isolated unit must lose one step. Units may retreat into fortress
squares and remain supplied indefinitely a s long a s they do
not go more than one square from the fortress square. This only
applies a s long a s at l e a s t one of the forts in or on the side of
the square in question i s undestroyed. Only ONE corps may be
supported in each fortification square. Units may only be supported by their own country's forts.
British units depend on the French for supply. The Belgians
depend on Brussels. Dutch units have supplies a s long a s they
stay within Holland, and none outside Holland.
All units may use enemy railroads for supply ONLY. You
may only move your units by railroad a s far a s your own borders.
Exception-Germans use Luxemburg railroads.

REPLACEMENTS
Replacements are available at the rate of SIX steps each
per turn for French and German forces. The British receive
THREE steps only and not before 1 September. The Belgians
and Dutch receive none.
T o receive replacements a unit must be supplied and a t
least TWO squares away from the nearest enemy unit. The
receiving unit i s allowed to move in the turn itreceives replacements. A unit may not receive more than ONE replacement step
per turn. Brigades, once wiped out, may not be revived with
replacements. A larger unit (division or corps) may be rebuilt
if it has a t least one step left. When a division or corps i s
removed from the board after its last step has been destroyed
the unit itself i s considered destroyed and may not be revived
through replacements and brought back into play. All replacements are infantry only. French and Germans receive replacements from the second turn on. The British may receive their
three replacement steps anytime after 1 September.

REINFORCEMENTS
Units which come into play after the initial deployment are
indicated on the back of the Mobilization Chart.

BATTLE MANUAL
You have finished the rules of the standard game. Examples
of play and further clarification of rules are found on the Combat
Results Table, Introductory Game Card and the Battle Manual.
The Battle Manual also contains additional rules for advanced
versions of the standard game a s well a s suggestions for
strategy and tactics which will add greater realism and depth
to the play of 1914.

SEND STAMPED ENVELOPE


For general information about all Aualon Hill products, send
a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Aualon Hill Company, 451 7 Harford Road, Balt imore, Maryland.
0 1 9 6 8 T h e Avalon Hill Company
First printing-March

1968

Baltimore, Md.

Printed in U.S.A.

Jr Short Game

Solitaire Game

Jr Strategy & Tactics for 1914


Historical Commentary

'

'ENTS

Soli$aire Game .........


Play By Mail Game .
Game Theory.............
Strategy and Tactics
Arms and Men
Order of Battl
Historical Commentary .
Bibliography .............
Glossary ...................
money-order For genercll onrorrnarlon uoour nvoton nlll s serles or
realistic games and their magazine, T h e General, send
a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: T h e Avalon
Hill Company, 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland

21214.

@1968 The Avalon Hill Company, Baltimore, Vd. Frintc


First Printing March 1968

Went take
L-A

LA--

THE EASTERN FRONT

tomary two step loss.


%Nationality of units is shown by the color and symbol
on the back of the counter. German units have an iron
cross on them and are feldgrau (greygreen) in color.
Dutch units have a circular symbol on them and are
red in color.Belgian counters are feldgrau on the back
but have the circular symbol. French and British units
have the circular symbol on their backs and are red
in color.
10-When cavalry units are attacked from a direction
which forces them to use their "attack" factor for
defense they must use a defense factor of "0" a s they
do not have any real attack factor.
11-When units are involved in combat they are turned
face up. They stay face up until they are no longer adjacent to the enemy. Other units on a square with a unit
engaged in combat that are not fighting may stay inverted.
For attacks from
this side, use A T T A C K F A C T O R as
a defense factor.

Units a t t a c k O N L Y
in the direction

Unit loses O N E
movement
factor
whenever i t turns
one or more times
during movement.

For attacks from


this side use DEFENSE FACTOR
for the defense.

U n i t may use full movement factor i f i t moves i n a


straight line.

In the original campaign the Germans were faced with


a problem in dividing their armies between the west
(against the French) and the east (the Russians). The
Standard Game has arbitrarily "built in" a deployment
identical t o the one originally used. In this rule you will
be allowed to vary the deployment and perhaps see if you
could have outguessed the earlier German planners who
had decided that "France must be destroyed first."
On the Mobilization chart there is an Optional Deployment section. In this section all the units available
to the German army are listed along with a numerical
"value" for each one a s well as the total value for each
type of unit and the entire armed forces. (For example,
a 7-123 has a "value" of 10. There are 26 of these units
in the entire army thus all 7-12-3 units in the army amount
to 260. The "value" of the entire army i s 409.) When
planning his initial deployment the German player must
decide how much of his army he wishes to send to the
east and how much to the west. The more he sends to
the east the greater his chances of defeating the Russians
first and then turning on the French with, if he is lucky,
the full weight of his army. The German player has seven
deployment options, based on the number of "value"
factors. he sends to the east. They are; 25-30, 45-50
(this is the one the Germans originally used), 75-80,
22030, 175-80, 245-50, 32530. The game then proceeds
as usual until the fourth turn.
At the beginning of this turn the German player consults the EAST FRONT RESOLUTION CHART and
rolls the die to s e e what range of possible outcomes will
be available t o him on the eastern front. At the beginning
of the fifth turn he consults the EAST FRONT SITUATION CHART, unless he rolled a "pass" on the Resolution Chart in which case he must wait the number of
turns indicated and roll for the Resolution Chart again.

When the German player does roll for the Situatio Chart
he consults the indicated outcomes and sees how many
troops he must send either east or west. The indicated
number of troops to be sent to the east must be taken off
the board immediately. Troops may arrive from the east
at the rate of one corps per turn. These troops begin to
return from the east four turns after the turn in which the
die is rolled for the Situation Chart.
The Inverted Counter and Game Extension rules
should be used whenever this one i s used.

E A S T F R O N T RESOLUTION C H A R T

45-50

75-80

110-115 175-180

245-250
E

325-330
E

Pas# 1

Pass 1

"
Y

Pass 1

Pans 2

Pans 1

Pass 2

Pann2

Pars2

Pass 2

Pass 3

Pass 2

Pass 3

Paas 4

Pass 2

Factor in Eantl 25-30


D
1
A

Letters-A, B, C etc.-represent the Option Columns


in the East Front Situation Chart. "Pass" refers to the
number of moves you must wait before rolling the die
again. In the meantime the game goes on with the East
Front unresolved. If you roll the die and come up with a
letter you use that letter with the Situation Chart which
you may roll for in the next move.

E A S T E R N F R O N T SITUATION C H A R T

Option columns-A

D
I
E

Numberr refer to the Eart Front Situations shown below.

EAST FRONT SITUATIONS


1 Germans suffer severe set backs in the east. German
rolls die and doubles the number thrown. This doubled
number represents the number of corps the German
player must take off the board immediately. These
units stay out of play for the duration of the game.
Units taken off the board must not be surrounded by
enemy units.
2 Similar to situation 1 except that the die roll number
.is NOT doubled and the original number represents
the number of corps to be taken off the board.
3 Situation remains static. All German forces in the
east remain there for the remainder of the game. No
forces are taken from the west. Germans receive 1 0
victory points for situation 3.
4 Fifty percent of the German forces in the east are
freed for employment in the west. Use the "value
factors" in determining which units will be sent
westward. One corps may be sent to the west each
move. The first corps arrives in the west four moves
from now. Forces arrive from the east at the rate of
one corps per turn until all units alloted for the west
have arrived. Germans receive 50 victory points for
situation 4.
5 The same a s situation 4 except that seventy-five
percent of the German forces in the east are available
for service in the west. Germans receive 75 victory
points for situation 5.
6 All German forces in the east are freed for operations
in the west. Follow procedures used in situations 4
and 5 for moving them back from the east t o the west.
Germans receive 100 victory points for situation 6.

GAME VARIATION
Numerous minor military and political factors could
have altered the outcome of the 1914 campaign. In order
to incorporate these into the game a s simply a s possible
we have included ten Game Variation Cards for each side.
Each of these cards introduces a new element into the
game. The following procedure is used when this rule
is included:
STEP 1-Before filling out Mobilization Charts, each
side takes three cards a t random from their pile of
Game Variation Cards.
STEP %You must use the Third Player rule for this
rule. The third player now takes the cards from both
sides and consults the Game Variation Chart. Meanwhile each player fills out his mobilization chart.
When the mobilization Charts have been filled out the
third player gives both players the results of the
interaction of their six Game Variation Cards on the
Game Variation Chart. (Example; if the German
player chose card G5 and the Allied Player card A10
then the third player would read across line G5 and
down column A10 until the two met at outcome 11.)
Both players consult the Outcomes List for the
results of this interaction.
The Inverted Counter and East Front rules must be
used with this one. The Third Player must keep note of
the changes brought about in the game through the use of
this rule and keep the players informed (or ignorant, a s
the case may be) of these changes. Players may have to
change their mobilization due to certain outcomes before
starting play.

GAME VARIATION C H A R T
TABLE A 2
SIZE O F NEUTRAL ARMIES
0

CHANCE CARDS

u
T
Belgian A r m y now contains 6 6 - 8 - 2 ' s . 2 3-4-2's.

1 (2)- 1-3.

Belgian A r m y now contains 4 6-8-2's.

2 3-4-2's.

1 (2)-1-3.

Belgian A r m y now contains 3 6-8-2's.


1 (2)-1-3.

2 3-4-2's.

2 1-1-2's.

M
E

Belgian A r m y now contains 1 6-8-2. 2 3-4-2's.

2 I-I-2'~.

Dutch A r m y now contain8 4 3-4-2's.

1 (1)-1-3.

2 2-2-2's.

Dutch A r m y now contains 2 3-4-2'% 2 2 - 2 - 2 ' s .

TABLE A 3
F R E N C H "R" & "T" UNITS
D
1

F r e n c h m a y b r i n g 4 6-6-2's and one 1 - 1 - 2 i n t o play on move


one. T h e y m u s t be included i n the f o r c e s shown on the mobilization
chart.

F r e n c h "R" ( R e s e r v e ) units m a y not attack f o r the firmt f o u r m o v e s


of the g a m e o r until a G e r m a n unit goes m o r e than t h r e e s q u a r e s
beyond the F r e n c h - G e r m a n b o r d e r into F r a n c e . Whichever c o m e s
first.

F r e n c h "R" ( R e s e r v e ) units m a y not be placed within four a q u a r e 8


of the b o r d e r during the initial s e t up of unita. T h i s includes units
n o r m a l l y stationed in the fortified s q u a r e s .

L
L

C h a n c e C a r d s Gll-G17 r e f e r to E a s t e r n F r o n t deployment options.


G11 r e f e r s to 25-30 f a c t o r s in the e a s t ; G l 2 r e f e r s to 45-50 factors;G13
to 75-80; G14 t o 110-120;G15 to175-180;G16 t o 245-250;G17 t o 325-330.
Blank squares indicate that the game variation chart cards chosen are
not affected by the game w r i a t i o n chart.

S a m e a s 1 above.

S a m e a s 2 above.

F r e n c h i m p r o v e the efficiency of t h e i r r a i l r o a d s . They m a y move


a m a x i m u m of t h r e e c o r p s p e r t u r n a t a r a t e of 25 s q u a r e p e r
t u r n , just a s the G e r m a n s can.

T A B L E A. 5
FRENCH NORTH AFRICA

TABLE A 9
F R E N C H MOBILIZATION
D

L a r g e rebellion i n North N r i c a . ONLY one 2-4-3 a r r i v e s


on move 4 a s the North African Army.
Middle s h e rebellion in North Mrica. ONLY two 2-4-3's on
move 4 a s the North African Army reinforcements.
Little rebellion in North N r i c a (that i s , m o r e than usual). ONLY
three 2-4-3's on move 4 a s the North N r i c a n Army reinforcements.

NOTE: MS r e f e r s to Mobiliaation Squares, units a r e r e f e r r e d to by their


Mobilisation Chart "unit codes".
1
Plan 14 (1898) In Reims-2 9's. in MS 18-22-4 0's. in Verdun2 1's. MS
1 9. behind Toul-5 6's. 1 r. Below Toul-4 6's. 1 2
23-27-3 6's. 4 0's. I 2 . I x. Above Langres- 3 6's. 2 9's. MS 2834-6 6's. 3 9's. 2 0's. 1 2 . 1 I . 2 x ' s .

I
E

Plan 15 (1903)- In Reims- 3 9's. 2 squares below Reims-2 9's. MS


18-22- 5 6's. 4 0's. 2 2's. MS 23-27- 4 6's. 4 0's. Below Toul4 6's. In Langres- 3 9's. 2 1's. MS 28-34- 8 6's. 1 2 , 2 0's. 2 ~ ' s .
MS 20- 1 x . MS 25- 1 x.

Plan 15b (1907)-MS 15-17- 2 6's. 3 0's. I r. In Reims- 1 9. above


Reims- 1 9. 2 squares below Reims- 2 9. Verdun- 5 6's. 1 0. MS
18-22-2 2's. 1 6. In Toul 5 6's. 2 0's. 1 r . MS 23-27-4 6's. 2 0's.
2 1's. 1 x . In Langres- 4 9's. MS 28-34- 4 6's. 1 2, 1 1. 2 0's. 1 x.

Plan 16 (1909)- MS 15-17- 2 6's. 3 0's. In P a r i a - l 6. Behind Reims4 9's. 4 squares below Reimm- 2 6's. 2 9's. 1 z. MS 19- 1 0. In
Verdun- 3 6's. 2 2's. 2 1's. I 0. 2 x's. In Toul- 2 6's. MS 23-275 6's. 3 0's. MS 28-34-2 6's. 2 0's. 1 2. 1 1. I x. In Dijon-2 6's.
2 9's. In Reims- 2 6's.

R
0

German battlecruiser COEBEN sinks French transports b r h g h g


North N r i c a n Army to France. No North African Army on move
4, o r ever.

L
Very quiet situation in North A f r i c a , send 4 2-4-3's. 2 1-1-3's.
2 (1)-0-4's to F r a n c e on move 4 a s North African Army.
Same a s 5 except you m u s t roll die again to s e e how long the North
N r i c a n Army w i l l be delayed by the COEBEN. If you roll a 1 you
m u s t wait one turn. if a 3 then wait three turns and s o on.

Plan MICHEL (1911)- MS 1-9- 6 6's. 2 9's. 4 0's. MS 10-14-3 6's.


2 0's. 1 x. In P a r i s - 2 6's. 1 9. 2 0's. MS 15-17- 1 6. 1 9. In
Reims- 1 6. MS 18-22-2 6's. 1 9. 5 squares below Reims- 1 6. 1 2.
I x. MS 23-27-1 6. 2 9's. 2 1's. 1 2. MS 28-34- 4 6's. 1 9 . 1 2. I 1.
2 0's. 1 x.
6

TABLE A 8
USE O F B E F VARIES

Land entire BEF on move 4. 2 8-14-3's.


1 (2)-1-4. 1 (7)-3-4.
Only token force .ent.on

Plan 16b (1913)-In P a r i s - 1 6. MS 10-17-2 6'.. 1 9. 3 0's. MS 18-221 6. 2 9's. 2 0's. 1 2. Behind Verdun-4 6's. 1 0. l r. MS 23-27-5 6's.
2 9's. 1 1. 1 2. 1 x. Behind Toul-4 6's. 2 O's, 1 x. MS 28-34-4 6's.
3 9 ' s . 20'.
1 2 , 21's. 1%.
Additional reinforcements and replacements a s usual. Units should be spread out in
the groups of Mobilisation Squares (MS) indicated above.

2 4-7-3's.

1 1-2-3,

move 4. 1 1-2-3, 1 (2)-1-4.

Movement of BEF staggered. On move 4 2 8-14-3's. 1 1-2-3


1 (2)-1-4. 1 (7)-3-4. On move 7- 1 4-7-3. on move 10 a 1-2-3.
on move 11 a 4-7-3, on move 14 a 4-7-3. F o r further British
reinforcements s e e the CAME EXTENSION rule.
Only 2 8-14-3's and 1 (71-3-4 land on move 4. The r e s t of
the STANDARD CAME BEF'landa on the following moves at the
rate of one unit p e r turn. Additional reinforcements a s usual.
Only 2 8-14-3's and 1 (71-3-4 land on move 4. The r e s t of the
BEF may land only when a "1" i s rolled. Each turn you roll the
die f o r this until a "1" i s rolled. Additional reinforcements a s
usual.
Land entire British force on move 4. 2 8-14-3's. 2 4-7-3's.
l ( 7 ) - 3 - 4 . 1 (2)-1-4. 2 1-2-3's. 1 1-1-3. 1 2 - 4 - 3 . On move
12. 1 1-1-2 (no 1-1-3). On move I8 only 2 1-1-2 On move 21,
1 4-7-3. Nothing on move 28.

TABLE G 3
GERMAN SIEGE A R T I L L E R Y

D
1

No 420's a t all. Only 2 305 units. However. you may consider


Liege destroyed on the f i r s t German move because of early
mobiliution of German siege artillery.

Only 1 420 unit available. No 305's.

No 420's o r 305's a t all. Except f o r reinforcements on move 30.


See b e l m .

I 420. 1 42ORR (RailR-d-this


unit may move on the railroad lines
only. They m y move one square off i r a i l line in order to attack
s position). 2 305's.

1 420.1 42OPR. 4 305's. Consider Liege destroyed on the f i r s t


L
German turn. See 1 above.

1 420 RR, 2 305's available. Cowider Liege destroyed on the f i r s t


German turn. Sr- 1 -\9ve

I
E

0
L

TABLE G 7
PASSAGE THROUGH BELGIUM

5
6

and withdraws the number (in


corps) shown on the die. These units stay off the board for the rest
of the game.
7 Use card G5 instead.
No North Army.
8
9 - No North Army.
10 - German r o l l s die on move 4; 1-2 roll, remove one corps from the board;
3-4, remove 2 corps; 5-6, remove 3 corps. Units stay out of play for
the duration of the game.
11 - No North Army.
12 - Turkey remains neutral.
B E F can have no more than two 8-14-3's and one (7)-3-4's
i n it.
13
14 Cancels card A10.
15 - Delay r o l l i n g for Eastern Front Resolution Chart until move 10.
Delay rolling for Eastern Front Resolution Chart until move 12.
16
17 Delay rolling for Eastern Front Resolution Chart until move 15.
18 - In 110 line of Eastern Front Resolution Chart a l l "C1"s become
' l. P a ~1".
~
19 Use 110 line on the Eastern Front Resolution Chart.
Use 175 line on the Eastern Front Resolution Chart.
20
21 - Use 245 line on the Eastern Front Resolution Chart.
Cancels cards A1 and G7.
22
I f 1, 2 or 3 i s rolled on table A2 then G7 i s cancelled. Do not t e l l
23
German until game begins.
24 - Card G7 cancel led.
Cards G7 and A7 cancelled.
25
26 - British remain neutral and do not land at all.
27 - If a 4 i s rolled on table A2 then card G8 i s cancelled.
British are neutral i f French invade Belgium before Germans.
28
Card A8 applies only i f Germans invade Belgium first.
29
Valid only i f Germans invade Belgium before French do.
30
31 - Cannot use Eastern Front Rule, except as indicated. Factors going
to east given.
32 - Roll for East Front Resolution Chart on move 1.
33
Roll for East Front Resolution Chart on move 2.
Use 45 line on the East Front Resolution Chart and r o l l 'on move 5.
34
Use 75 line on the East Front Resolution Chart and r o l l on move 4.
35
36. Use 110 line on the East Front Resolution Chart and r o l l on move 4.
37 - Use 175 line on the East Front Resolution Chart and r o l l on move 4.
38 - Use 245 line on the East Front Resolution Chart and r o l l on move 4.

D
I

G e r m a n s m a y move 4 c o r p s anywhere into Belgiwn b e f o r e


making f i r s t move. T h e r e a f t e r a m u i m u m of 2 c o r p s p e r
t u r n m a y be moved by r a i l r o a d through Belgium. T h r e e c o r p s
p e r move r a i l r o a d movement r u l e mtill applies. Belgian a r m y
r e m a i n s inactive f o r the r e m a i n d e r of the g a m e .

S a m e a s 1 e r c e p t that the German. do not have 4 c o r p s in


Belgium before move I .

I
E

S a m e am 2

S a m e a s 2 except that only one c o r p s p e r t u r n m a y be moved


through by r a i l r o a d .

S a m e am 4 e r c e p t that no r a i l r o a d movement of troops through


the country i s allowed. May move troopm f r e e l y by foot.

6
S a m e am 5.
On a11 of the above a11 t r o o p s m a y move f r e e l y by foot throughout country. F o r
s i m p l i c i t y ' s s a k e you mhould take the e n t i r e Belgium a r m y off the board. The
F r e n c h do not r e c e i v e 30 v i c t o r y points They r e c e i v e only 10.

- Card A10 cancelled, use Card A8.


- German player throws die on move 4

TABLE G 9
GERMAN MOBILIZATION

VON MOLTKE (the e l d e r ) PLAN (1879)-Send I10 value f a c t o r s to


ti-,= eamt. Mobilire the r e s t of the a r m y in o r behind MS 14-30.
Neutrality of Belgium and L u r e m b u r g m a y not be violated.
VON WALDERSEE PLAN (1888) - 175 f a c t o r s in the e a s t . R e m a i n ing f o r c e s in MS 14-30, Belgium and L u r e m b u r g m a y not be
violated.

'VON SCHLIEFFEN PLAN I ( 1 8 9 9 ) - 45 f a c t o r s to the e a s t . MS 6 - 8 11 7'm. 8 5's. 2 4'm. 1 2. 8 0 ' s . 2 + ' a , 2 x ' s . MS 9 - 1 5 - 6 7 ' s . 4 5 ' s .
1 2. I 0. 1 x . MS 17-22- 6 7'm. 4 5 ' s . I 2. 1 0. I t. 1 x . MS 23-301 4. 1 2. 2 1 ' s . One 3 e a c h in H e t z and Strasmburg.
L

VON SCHLIEFFEN PLAN I1 (1906-"the s t r o n g right wingo8)-MS


6-9- 13 7 ' s . 8 5'8, 3 0 ' s 2 t ' s . 2 x ' s . 1 2. MS 10-14- 9 7 ' ~ .
6 5'6. 5 0 ' s . 1 r . MS 15-22- 3 7'0. 2 5 ' s . 2 0 ' s . 1 4, I x. MS
2 3 - 3 0 - 4 1's Behind MS 8 - 9 - 3 4'0. 1 2. One 3 e a c h in Met. and
S t r a s s b u r g . 25 f a c t o r s in the e a s t .

VON MOLTKE (the younger) PLAN I ( 1 9 1 2 ) - 7 5 f a c t o r - in the e a a t .


MS 6-9- I2 7 ' s . 4 5 ' s . 1 4. 3 0 ' s . 2 +'s, 1 x MS 10-14- 9 7 ' s .
4 5'8, 5 0 ' 0 . 2 4 ' s . l x MS 15-22- 2 7's. 2 5's. 1 x . MS 23-304 1 ' 8 , 1 2 . Behind MS 20-22-2 4 ' s . 1 2 . I 1. One 3 e a c h in M e h
and S t r a s s b u r g .

VON MOLTKE (the younger) PLAN I1 (1914-"the weakened right


wingu)-45 f a c t o r s in the e a ~ t See the INTRODUCTORY GAME
C U D f o r this plan.
MS r e f e r . to Mobilizasion Square.. Units a r e r e f e r r e d to by the "unit codes" uBed in
the Mobilization C h a r t . In outcome. 3 to 6 Belgium and L u r e m b u r g m a y be invaded.

GAME VARIATION CHART OUTCOMES


1 - I f "R" units are kept in reserve you must send two 6-10-3's
for the rest of the game.
2
Italy remains neutral.
B E F may contain no more than one 8-14-3 and one (7)-3-4.
3
4
No amphibious raids allowed. Card A10 cancelled.

to D i j o n

10

SUPPLY LINES'
For the original campaign the Germans anticipated
difficulty in keeping their armies supplied while marching through Belgium and north France. To reflect these
conditions we have included three communications zone
units (EB - "Eisenbahn Bautruppen" Railway Labor
Troops). The supply rules are changed as follows:
No nation's units may receive supplies when more
than six squares from their own railroads UNLESS
they are within three squares of an EB unit, which
only the Germans possess.
The EB units move along existing rail lines a t the rate
of two squares per turn. They are subject to all movement restrictions. You may increase the movement rate
of EB units by stacking and moving them together. Two
EB units moving together have a movement rate of three
squares per turn. EB units may move no faster although
you may stack three and obtain a movement factor of
three through rough terrain or across rivers. As the EB
units move along existing rail lines ONLY they represent
the most advanced railroad square from which friendly
units may obtain supplies. All railroad squares which the
EB units have passed through may also be used for s u p
plying friendly units. You may keep track of the advance
of the EB units on your mobilization chart. You may not
use foreign rail lines for anything except supply UNLESS
the following conditions are met.
Non rough terrain, river or ridge squares may be used
for rail transport (with the usual restrictions although
the movement rate is only 12 squares per turn) a s
soon a s an EB unit passes over them ONLY if these
squares have a "cleared" rail line back t o the
German or Luxemburg border. Rough terrain, river and
ridge squares take five turns from the time an EB unit

passes over them to be "cleared" (bridges rebuilt,


tunnels cleared, roadbed restored, etc.). Keep a
record of this on the Mobilization Chart. If you're
using the Third Player rule he can handle it.

CAVALRY
This rule must be used with the INVERTED COUNTER
rule.
Cavalry were used most effectively as a reconnaissance force. To use them in this role they must be allowed to attack, a t least for the purposes of gaining
information a s to the identity and strength of inverted
enemy units. This sort of "attack" is known a s a probe.
It is carried out a s follows: First your cavalry unit must
move adjacent t o a square containing enemy units. Then,
in the attack portion of your move, you announce. an
"attack" upon the enemy units in the square you are
"probing," If there is only infantry or artillery in that
square the enemy must turn these unit counters over for
the rest of your turn. At the end of his next movement
turn he may turn them over again only if they are no
longer adjacent to ANY of your units. If there happened
to be cavalry in the square you are probing you do NOT
force the enemy t o reveal the identity of his units. In
this case your cavalry must attack (with its heretofore
unused attack factor) the cavalry unit(s) in the square
being probed. The defending cavalry units (up t o corpstwo division-size) may defend a s in a normal attack.
Only the identity of the enemy cavalry unit(s) you attacked is revealed. This unit may be inverted and its
identity concealed again a s soon a s it is no longer
adjacent to any of your units. Should the defending
cavalry unit decide t o pull back one square rather than
take a two step loss the identity of ALL units in the
defender's square must be revealed. In this case the
attacker may not advance into the square the defending

cavalry unit vacated, if only because it i s still occupied


by the other non-cavalry units which do not have to move.
A defeated cavalry unit on a square by itself must move.

AMPHIBIOUS ATTACK AND SEA MOVEMENT

Move 20 - British 8-14-3 (IN-Indian Corps) at Dijon.


Move 26 - German, 5 4-6-3's
(NR-New "type"
Reserve Corps) and 12-4-3 anywhere east of the Rhine.
Move 28 - British 4-7-3 a t any of the ports the BEF
landed at.

GARRISONS
In the original campaign the Germans were forced to
put a time limit on their operations because they knew
that a s soon a s the Russian m y completed their mobilization (at the end of August) German troops would have
to be shifted to the east to fend off the expected invasion
of east Prussia. Therefore, to use this rule you must also
use the EASTERN FRONT rule. Using this rule you may
extend operations to the end of October, as is shown on
the Time Record on the back of the Mobilization Chart.
Why stop a t the end of October? For the simple reason
that by this time both sides would have depleted their
inadequate peacetime ammunition supplies to the point
where any further serious operations would be impossible.
There was also the factor of the weather, which was
getting wetter and thus making mobile operations more
difficult. A further, and perhaps decisive limiting factor
was the shock of the enormous slaughter experienced in
the opening months of the campaign. It was to have been
a short, relatively bloodless campaign. Or so all the participants told themselves in August. By the end of October there would no doubt be second thoughts.
The following additional reinforcements would be
received after 12 September.
Move 15 - British (1)-0-4 at Dijon. German 2-4-3
anywhere on German border.
Move 18 - British, three 1-1-2's a t any port the
BEF landed at.

Where ever the Germans advanced they found an increasingly hostile populance. The people of Belgium and
France soon discovered how vulnerable the ever more
lengthy German supply lines running through their conquered lands were to sabotage and guerilla warfare. The
Germans planned to use their LW (Landwehr-a sort of
"National Guard") troops for guarding their communications a s well a s for keeping order in the newly conquered
territories. To reflect this need the German player should
deduct one 4-4-2 unit (or its equivalent in 1-1-2 or
2-2-2 units) when he invades Belgium and another when
he crosses the French border with 10 or more units.
When the German player has 30 units (of any size) in
France he should deduct another 4-4-2 from his forces.
These "garrison" units are taken off the board and thus
are out of play as it is assumed that they have been
broken down into smaller units and spread throilghout the
conquered territory.

GAME EXTENSION
The Allies had almost complete control of the seas
during the 1914 campaign. They could, and did, use this
control to move troops by sea as well a s to launch small
raids into the German rear areas. Therefore, the Allies
have the following naval capabilities.
From move 5 to the end of the game the Allies may
move one corps per turn by sea between any of the ports

shown on the board (Le Havre, Rouen, Boulogne, Calais,


Dunkirk, - Ostende and Antwerp may be used if Belgium
is involved on the Allied side). Units move by s e a using
essentially the same procedure a s they use for railroad
movement. First the unit moves to the port they will
leave from. On the NEXT turn they move by sea, spending the entire move at sea. On the next move they land
and may not move by land until the following move.
Therefore, s e a movement takes three moves; one move to
get on ships, one move for s e a movement and the third
move for getting off ships. Only on the fourth move may
you move normally again.
From move 5 on British infantry divisions and brigades as well as the French "M" brigade may land anywhere on the French or Belgian coast and operate a s far
as three squares from the coast or until they establish
conventional lines of supply (then they may operate a s
normal land based units). These units may also withdraw
by sea. Units which have not landed by s e a may also
withdraw by s e a but they must give up one step in doing
so. Units may not land or withdraw when they are within
one square (adjacent to) an enemy unit. No more than one
division may land on any one square in any one turn.
An Allied unit may not be considered cut off from
supplies if it has three squares clear of enemy units between itself and the coast. This applies to British,
French and Belgian units.
If the Germans 'have invaded Holland and destroyed
all Dutch units the Allies may not use Antwerp.
Should Brussels be captured by the Germans the
Belgians have only Antwerp left to supply their army
(as a fortress). Should the Belgian army be completely
driven out of Belgium either by land or through evacuation by sea from Antwerp or Ostende the Germans
receive 10 victory points.

TIME LIMIT
During the actual campaign commanders often had
days to make their decisions. They did not, however,
have a s much information available to them a s those
playing the game of 1914. Players sometime take an
unrealistic length of time to make their moves because
of the information available to them. Normally the decisions made by the original commanders were complex
only in that they did not have the data available to them
that the players of 1914 have. To re-create this element
of error inherent in any campaign, and also to allow the
player with the firmer grasp of the situation to use his
better abilities, a five minute time limit is placed on
each player's move. The following procedure is used.
One watch with a second hand i s needed. The player
not moving (or a third player) holds the watch and tells
the player who is moving when he may begin his move.
The player then has five minutes to move his units. The
other player may observe and plan his own move in the
meantime. When the first player's move is up he may take
another five minutes to make his attacks. When using
the Inverted Counter rule the Player who has just moved
MUST attack any enemy units he finds his own units
adjacent to and with their attack pointers pointing
towards.

DUMMY COUNTERS AND BLIND SQUARES


A major problem confronting every military commander
was a lack of information concerning the enemy's strength
and dispositions. This "information gap" existed throughout the battle area and was rarely concentrated in any one
area. To reflect this condition we use two methods, one
for those who prefer the Inverted Counter rule and another
for those who prefer playing with counters face up.

Dummy Counter Rule (for Inverted Counters) - Each


player may use blank substitute counters t o deceive
the enemy a s to the actual location of his units. Dummy
counters may not amount to more than 10% of the real
unit counters on the board. No dummy counter may be
used within three squares of another friendly dummy
counter.
Blind Square Rule (for face up counters) - You may
invert all the counters in any squares you wish a s
long a s the squares with inverted counters are not
within three squares of other blind squares containing friendly units.
Units adjacent to enemy units may not be dummy
counters nor may they be inverted, a t least not when
using the blind square rule. Inverted counters may
be used adjacent to enemy units when using the
Inverted Counter rule.

ALL AROUND DEFENSE


In the Standard Game it was assumed that most units
would only have to fight on a single front. Combat factors
and the Combat Results Table were computed with this
in mind. In reality, however, it sometimes happens that a
unit is surrounded and overwhelmed because it cannot
adequately cover all of its new frontage. This rule reflects the "all around defense" problem.
Assume that each UNIT (be i t corps, division or brigade) may only defend three continuous sides of a hexagon
and still retain its full defense factor. This brings a number of changes to the combat procedure;
1-If a unit i s attacked from two different directions,
and if one of the attacking units i s attacking directly
opposite the other attacking unit (see example) then
the defending unit must use its attack factor in place
of its defense factor.
2-A maximum of two corps may now defend one
square a s long as the attacking units are coming from
two opposite directions. Each defending unit must

also fight any other attacking units adjacent to itself


and the first attacking unit.
Therefore, in order to use "all around defense" you
must have a t least two units on the square. This rule is
actually an adaptation of the Inverted Counter Rule. You
may simulate the Inverted Counter Rule while using face
up counters by using the symbol indicating the units size
as the "direction pointer" found on the reverse of the
counter.

I f attacked from two opposite sides the attack


factor must be used as o defense factor. Attacks
from adjacent squores a t the same time do not
otter this.

Two corps in a square provides a l l round defense


with bath corps defending just their area (three
continuous sides of the square) with their
defense factors.

RETREAT BEFORE COMBAT


THIRD PLAYER
This option is already available to cavalry units. I t
allows the attacked unit to pull back in the face of an
attack. Infantry units (and NOT artillery units by themselves) may pull back one square when attacked (along
with all units, including artillery, in the square). The
enemy unit may advance into the vacated square. Neither
side takes any losses.

Some of the advanced rules require the services of a


third person or "player".
The third player is useful (and a t times absolutely
necessary) for the following advanced rules.
Simultaneous Movement Rule: The third player keeps
an eye on both player's mobilization charts to see that
no errors occur.
Delayed Command Rule: the third player transmits
the delayed messages and sees to it that they are not
changed when they are being carried out. His interpretations of these delayed commands are FINAL.
Hidden Movement Rule: the third player monitors the
hidden units and sees to it that no errors are committed.
Game Variation Rule: the third player, using the
Game Variation Chart, determines what changes will have
to be made in the play of the game. He also informs the
players a t the appropriate time of these changes.
The third player may perform any other function the
other players feel necessary for smooth play.

RELIEVING THE LINE


Units engaged with the enemy, that is, adjacent to an
enemy unit, would normally have some difficulty in leaving their position and being replaced by another friendly
unit without the enemy being able to take advantage of
the movement. Therefore, if a unit wishes to leave a
position and have another friendly unit occupy it in the
same turn in order to deny it t o enemy units then both
the unit leaving the position as well as the unit which
will occupy it in that turn must lose one movement factor.

All third player d e c i s i o n s on rule interpretations are


final.

HISTORICAL S I M U L A

advanced game rules. T h i s w i l l take three to f i v e tim


as much time than the Standard Game although this c

ith a line the path each of your units (or groups of


its on one square) will move. If you wish your units to
)
tack a t the end of your move put an arrow (-

use of the differing movement factors you must refer


in the squares through which you are, moving this
means that those units will fight should they collide with
enemy units. If both colliding*wits wish to fight upon
meeting then you have 'both . attacking simultaneously
against the other. If both units s h d l d find themselves
entering the same square at the s a q time, the one which
has indicated that it will fight when passing through that
square will occupy that squad. The other unit must remain on the last square it passed through. If both units
moving into the same square choose to fight (according

to the arrows on the mobilization chart square) then they


fight. They continue to fight until there i s a combat
result in which one side loses a step and the other
doesn't. When this occurs the loser pulls back t o the
last square he has passed through. The winner occupies
the contested square. If neither unit was supposed to
fight for a contested square then both units pull back to
the last squares they passed through.

any of his forces have gone more than two squares for
each elapsed turn from the unit's original mobilization
square. When this occurs the German player must make
up moves for two turns a t once. On the next turn he must
make up a move for two turns in advance. For example,
if the German units go beyond the above limit on move 7
then on move 8 the German player must make up moves
for both move 8 and 9. On move 9 instead of making up
the simultaneous move on the mobilization chart for move
9 you instead use the one made up on move 8. Let a third
player sort out the resulting confusion. His decisions are
final. On move 9 you must make up move 10 before making move 9

MULTIPLE COMMANDER

HIDDEN MOVEMENT UNITS

In many rules there is considerable complication in


one individual trying to handle all of the detail involved.
Therefore it i s advisable that games played with a great
number of optional rules should employ more than one
player on each side. The battle area is divided by nature
into a number of areas. For example, the Ardennes
separates both the Allied and German forces. Thus there
could be two players on each side, one each for the north
and south sectors. You might also have a commander for
the rear areas who would handle replacements and rail
movements and what not. You might also have a supreme
commander in addition to subordinate commanders who
would actually handle the troops. Practically any division of responsibility i s ~ o s s i b l ein order to prevent one
from being overwhelmed with detail.

During the actual campaign the only units of the


enemy each side could positively identify were those it
encountered in the course of its operations. Therefore
only those enemy units you are in contact with need be
on the board. All others must be kept track of on a
mobilization chart and kept off the board. They are
brought back on the board a s soon a s they come adjacent
to an enemy unit. The same applies for your own units.
A third player could be used to keep track of these
hidden units.

DELAYED COMMAND
One of the major problems the Germans encountered
as they plunged into France was a breakdown in communications. This can be recreated in the game if the
Simultaneous Movement rule is also used. Simply have
the German player make up his moves on the mobilization
chart one move in advance. He must do this only when

MOVEMENT SEQUENCE CHART

move- 4
ment 3
factors 2
Of units1
0

Move one mquare of move


3
I
2
1
2
4
3
5
4

6
7
8

9
10

Units move in mequence according to their


movement factor and the portion of the
move in which the unit i s moving. A move
m
i divided into four parts am the largest
number of mquarem a unit may move in
one turn. Thus units with a movement
factor of 4 would move two moves before
any other unit moved even one. Then units
with a movement factor of 3 would move a
square followed by unit. with 2 for a move.
ment factor. At the mame time the 2 factor
units were moving the 4 factor units would
move mimultmeoumly. See the chart above.

SEQUENCE
OF
MOVEMENT

To play by mail you arrange to have your play by

GAME THEORY

STRATEGY AND TACTICS

ALLIED - The best allied strategy i s to blunt the


best German one. The Allies can beat the Germans a t
their own game by smashing through in the south while
delaying the German advance in the north. This requires
good timing and careful initial deployment but it can be
done. At all costs the Allies should try t o prevent the
Germans from seizing most of Belgium.

defensive variant i s the "mobile defense" in which you


not only seek to delay your enemy's advance but also
strive to cut off his supplies and cut down on his mobility. Cavalry is also very good in the defensive. In fact,
that's about all they're good for.

TACTICS
Tactics can be defined as what you do in detail.
For both sides it means getting the most out of all units
both defensively and offensively.

OFFENSIVE TACTICS - By sending masses of


cavalry ahead of the infantry units the Germans, as well
as the Allies, can disrupt an enemy line and destroy it.
This is particularly effective when used by the Germans
against the Belgians early in the game. On any occasion
the cavalry can exploit a hole punched in the line. It i s
a futile tactic to try and batter down an enemy line when
your opponent can take units out for replacements. If,
however, you have a slight edge along the entire line
and your opponent cannot afford to retreat then you may
destroy the entire line through constant attacks for only
a few moves.
DEFENSIVE TACTICS - It may sound trite, but
in this game "the best defense is a good offensive".
If the forces involved are equal (like two corps attacking
one corps) the defending corps should retreat in the
event of an attack and then counter-attack on the next
move. In some cases, however, it will be necessary to
stand and take heavier casualties. In this case it i s
better to pull the entire line back and put replacements
into depleted units rather than try to hold a position and
see your units wiped out one step at a time. Another good

WINNING BY POINTS - The way to victory i s by


occupying those areas which, a t the end of the game,
will bring the most points to the possessor. Neither
player should lose sight of this. Victory may be snatched
from the jaws of defeat by suddenly seizing some heretofore ignored area which, as it turns out, gives one side
just enough points t o win. For example, if the Germans
do not invade Belgium and seize the economic squares
near Longwy and Nancy they can win a marginal victory
60 to 54. Of course this means that they will probably
lose the war. By taking a few more chances they can
invade Belgium with a large force and instead of heading
for Paris, a s the French would expect, head for the
channel ports (Calais, Dunkirk, Boulogne) and be content to hold only this area. They can then win a tactical
victory by 160 to 58. What it boils down to is, the more
chances you are willing to take the greater will be your
possible victory, or defeat.

this merely widened the gap. In 1914 Germany had 2.3


million first line reserves (24 to 32 years old) and 1.4
second line reserves (33-42 years old). The French had
1.4 million f i s t line (2736 years old) and 1.08 million
second line (37-43 years old).
ORGANIZATION - The basic army unit in 1914 was
the corps and not, a s it i s today, the division. The size
of the corps (40 to 45 thousand men) was regulated by
the maximum number of men that could be deployed from
march column to battle order in one day. The maximum
number was the size of a corps. The corps had a standard
organization which usually consisted of two infantry divisions plus some supporting units. The three basic corps
organizations are shown below. The Belgians and Dutch
did not have any corps a s such but could operate groups
of divisions together. The French also had "groups of
reserve divisions" which were not really c a p in a
strict organizational sense. They were groups of three
reserve divisions which operated together. The same
applied for "groups of territorial divisions". The Germans had Landwehr corps which were only g r o u p of four
landwehr brigades. Ersatz corps were similar to the
French groups of reserve divisions.
GERMAN ACTIVE CORPS
4 4 . 0 0 0 man
I60 guns
48 machinepuns

The organization of the division was also standardized, even more s o than that of the corps. It invariably
consisted of 12 (thousand man) infantry battalions. In
addition there was divisional artillery and supporting
units (cavalry scouts, engineers, medics, supply, etc).
The battalion was divided into four 250 man infantry
companies which were themselves subdivided into four
or eight subunits.
Cavalry was organized into divisions of 510,000
men. They had some supporting heavy weapons (artillery,
machine guns) but were intended mainly for reconnaissance and raids in enemy rear areas. Each division had
a large stock of demolition and engineering equipment for
the destruction of telegraph and railway lines.
Supply unas were based on railway supplied depots.
Supply beyond these points was difficult a s the only
means available were horse drawn wagons. The British
were an exception. All their supplies between depot and
division were carried by truck.
All in all, the German organization was the most
effective, although the British were not far behind while
the French, with the exception of the ill-prepared Belgians, had the most to learn. The Germans put most of
their artillery in the divisions, while also providing more
complete "services" (engineers, medical, supply, etch
The British organization had many parallels with the
German but most of these were incidental as the British
had adopted a corpe "organization" because of expediency, not conviction. The French corps was faulted
mainly by their misplaced confidence in the offensive.

.WEAPONS - Each nation had a distinct "family" af


weapons for the infantry, cavalry and artillery. Their
merits and defects are shown below.
BRITISH - The infantry rifle was the Lee-Efield
'08 of 7.71 mm caliber and fed by a five round clip. Each
man carried 115 rounds with an additional 250 rounds
for each man in unit supply wagons. It was a rugged
weapon and had a "fast" action which allowed the
British rifleman, who was specially trained in "rapid
fire", to get off 20 aimed shots a minute. Each battalion
had two Maxim watercooled machine guns (with tripod)
each weighing some f i i y pounds. They had a "practical"
rate of fue of 200 rounds per minute (or 10 per second).
The basic artillery piece was the 84mm "18 pounder"
'02. It weighed 4300 pounds and had a range of 8000
meters. 96 rounds were carried with the gun and a fwther
176 by the ammo train. Maximum rate of f i i wtm 29
rounds per minute. One quarter of the divisional artillery
was the 114mm (4.5") howitzer '02 which weighed 4900
pounds and had a range of 4500 meters. 73 rounds were
carried with the gun and 90 with the amno train. Usual
rate of fire was 6 rounds per minute. Heavy artillery c m
sisted of 120mm (60 pounder) guns which weighed 12,000
pounds and had a range of 13,600 meters. Rate of f m was
4 rounds per minute. 20 rounds were c m i e d with the gun
and 100 with the ammo train.
Cavalry weapons consisted of infantry rifles and machine guns a s well as a 76.2mm ("13 pounder") gun
which weighed 3600 pounds and had a range of 8,000
meters and a maximum rate of f m of 29 rounds per
minute. 96 rounds were carried with the gun and 176
more with the ammo train.

BRITISH REGULAR DIVISION


1 8 . 0 0 0 men
71, guns
24 mac hincguns

FRENCH ACTIVE CORPS


45.000 men
120 guns
54 machlneguns

F R E N C H REGULAR DIVISION
18.000 men
36 guns
2 4 machineguns

FRENCH - The standard infantry rifle was the Lebel


'05. It was an 8mm weapon without a magazine. The usual
rate of fire was 8 rounds per minute. Each man carried
120 rounds while 8 2 more were camied by the unit. The
machinegun was the Puteaux-Hotchkiss. It was not water
cooled and used a tripod. Its practical rate of fire was
150 rounds per minute (10 per second).
The artillery was armed with the 75mm '97 gun. It
weighed 4100 pounds and could fire a s many as 4 0 rounds
per minute. Maximum range was 6500 meters. 120 rounds
were carried with the gun while a further 312 were carried
with the ammo train. Heavy artillery consisted of 120mm
and 155mm guns and howitzers of fairly recent design.
There were only 308 of them available.
Cavalry weapons were similar to the usual infantry
and artillery weapons except that the cavalry rifle was
a lighter model.
GERhlAN - The Mauser '98 was the basic rifle. It
was a 7.9mm weapon fed by a five round clip. Each man
had 150 rounds with another 77 in the unit supply wagons.
The weapon was mechanically excellent although i t s
action was not a s "fast" a s the British Lee-Enfield.
Its usual rate of fire was 12-15 rounds per minute. The
Germans had a \laxim machine gun that was water cooled
but mounted on a cumbersome sled and equipped with
a shield.
Artillery weapons consisted mainly of the 77mm '96na
gun. It weighed 42W pounds and had a maximum range of
7800 meters. 126 rounds were carried with the gun and a
further 100 with the ammo train. Rate of fire was 20
rounds per minute.

The howitzer was the 105mm '98/'09 model and


weighed 5000 pounds. Range was 6300 meters and rate
of fire was 6 rounds per minute. 82 rounds were carried
with the gun and 86 more with the ammo train. The heavy
howitzer was 150mm and weighed 5700 pounds. There
were 368 available. There were also 96 210mm howitzers available, each weighing 16,000 pounds and with a
range of 9300 meters. There were also 2 420mm and 5
305mm siege howitzers available.
Cavalry weapons were similar to the standard infantry and artillery weapons. Every man was equipped
with a lance.
Belgium and Holland had modem weapons similar
t o those used by the Germans.
FORTIFICATIONS - The forts shown on the mapboard
are mostly underground with only the turrets for the
heavy guns and parapets (of concrete and masonry) for
the infantry and machineguns showing above ground. A
typical one would have a garrison of 100 artillery nlen
and 400 infantry. It would have a dozen or s o guns of
75mm or larger caliber plus perhaps a s many machineguns. The forts are usually placed within supporting
distance of one another. The 2,000 t o 5,000 meter intervals between the forts must be held by additional infantry or e l s e the enemy can slip through a t night (despite the searchlights the forts usually had). The forts
usually interdict rail lines without which an invading
army would soon starve t o death.
TACTICS - Tactics had changed little in the past
hundred years. True, no commander still advocated
i~ttnckin massed columns. Yet the tactics in use at the

time amounted t o the same thing. It was common practice t o attack in a thick "skirmish line" which was, for
all appearances, very nearly a shoulder t o shoulder
advance. It was not until 1916-17 that most commanders
became convinced that machine guns and rapid firing
artillery simply made slaughter of such a tactic. When i t
came t o defensive tactics the prevailing doctrine was
only slightly l e s s inept. The French refused to dig in.
The Germans did, but not deep enough a t first. Only the
British dug deep and effectively from the first. Even so,
the defensive had an enormous advantage over the offensive. The only hope the attacker had was t o either overwhelm the defender with sheer weight of numbers ( a
costly tactic) or e l s e outflank him. The latter tactic
was the most effective. Overall, the campaign could not
help but be a blood bath. There were too many men
available for s o small a front (320 miles). Each side
could muster close t o a hundred divisions, which gave
each division 3.2 miles of front, or perhaps a bit more if
you deduct divisions pulled out of the line for reserves
and replacements. Each 12 battalion division normally
defended 5 t o 6 miles (1,000 meters per battalion). I t
normally attacked on a frontage of 2 t o 3 miles. The
deadlock, obviously. was inevitable.
F R E N C H C A V A L R Y DlVlSlON
5400 rnrn
8 puns
6 nlac hlnep~rns

9CuuS BICYCLE
GROUP

B
6
INE
3
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GERMAN RESER
311.000 m e n
72 guns
54 m a c hrneguns

F R E N C H R E S E R V E DIVISION
15 8 0 0 m e n
181 g u n s
24 rnach~nepons
(Territorial divisions were
s i m i l a r but without t h e i r
f u l l a l l o r a l ~ o no f guns a n d
no m a c h i n r g u n s )

BRITISH C A V A L R Y DIVISION
9200 m e n
36 guns
24 machineguns

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Chef d e s Armees- General Joffre
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HISTORICAL C O M M E N T A R Y

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t see turn lit again in oG.

had changed considerably. The majw ohan- wnc


a1 EuropeGermany. Germany was
time in centuries, a united nation. Not only were he1
ited but they were also among the most enerambitious occupants of the continent. These
expressed in the form of energetic commercial
md political activity, had turned most of the other maja
latione of Europe against her. Russia feared Germany
the support she might give her only ally-Austria
Hungary-as a result of conflicts over the fate of the
~ l a v i cpeople in the Balkans. The slavs of the Ballcanwho felt an ethnic kinship with the Russians, had
xntly freed themselves from the crumbling Tukish em$ire. Yet German speaking AustriaHungarywas making a
mighty effort to bring these slavic w o d e s under her in-

Elun-

major power adopted the Prussian system which included


the reserve system (see the ARMS 81 hlEN section) a s
well a s the Prussian method of mobilizing for and conducting a carefully prepared plan. The result was that
by 1914 both the Entente (Russia. France and Britain)
and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria Hungary and,
in theory, Italy) had developed such enormous armed
forces that a repeat of the rapid Prussian victory of
1870 became practically impossible.
Until 1898 the French were content t o merely plan a
successful defense against mother German invasion.
But in that year the French general staff developed plan
14 (see table A9). When this became known t o the Germans they realized that a massive French push against
Alsace-Lorraine would force them to make their major
effort against the French rather than, a s in their 1879
and 1888 plans, against the Russians. The German 1899
plan was the first German plan t o include deliberate
violation of Belgian neutrality in order t o outflank the
major French effort in Alsace-Lorraine. These plans s e t
the stage. militarily a t least. for 1914.
Subsequent French plans became bolder and bolder.
All of them, with the exception of an unofficial (and
unaccepted) plan by a French chief of staff (PLAN
MICHAEL) ignored the possibility of a German sweep
through neutral Belgium. T h e Germans, in the meantime,
did not make any major modifications in their original
plan although they did become more concerned with the
growing s i z e and efficiency of the Russian forces. This
concern caused them t o weaken their drive through Belgium in order t o augment the weaker forces which were
to "hold" the French in Alsace-Lorraine and the Russians in the east.
The French eventually adopted Plan 17, which had
as i t s objective the recapture of the lost provinces of
Alsace-Lorraine. The plan did recognize the possibility
of a German advance through Belgium but because the
French refused t o believe that the Germans would u s e
their reserve divisions a s active corps they did not think
that the Germans would have enough troops t o advance
north of the Liege-Namw line. The French were also
ignorant of the German heavy siege artillery with which
the Germans eventually smashed the Liege fortresses
and opened the way for an advance across the Belgian
plain. The Liege fortresses and the difficult terrain of
the A d e n n e s were t o have slowed a German advance
through neutral Belgium. The French 5th Army (all forces
on and above mobilization square .l6) had a dual mission.

It would either attack southeast in support of the attack


on hletz or, if the Germans were seen to come through
Belgium in force, they would march on Namur and hold
the hleuse river. There was no provision for a major
German advance NORTH of the Meuse.
The Germans had a new plan for 1914, the Von hloltke
I1 plan, which further weakened the northern wing in
favor of the southern front and the eastern forces. Still it
was a formidable plan with 25 corps coming through Belgium, 12 of which would advance through the Belgian
plain. The only possible mistake the Germans could make
with this plan would be t o take forces from the northern
front t o reinforce either the south or the eastern front.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what they did and the
main reason why the German plan was not able t o win a
decisive victory in the face of the faulty French Plan 17.
Great Britain had not become seriously involved with
war plans until after 1900, mainly a s a result of the increased rivalry between Germany and France. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which was actually a
strategic "strike" force whose name was modified t o
sound l e s s aggressive, was not organized until 1907. It
was kept in readiness for immediate intervention in an
European war. British troops were expected to land on
the north channel ports and join the northern part of the
French army. In the event of a German invasion of Belgium north of the Liege-Namur line the B E F would be
practically all there would be to stop them - two corps
against a s many as a dozen.
Belgium did not begin t o seriously prepare for a
massive German invasion until after 1900. This meant
preparing a large field army. Previous t o this she had
relied mainly on her various fortress cities such as
Liege and Namur. Liege was most important because it
guarded the only rail lines entering the Belgian plain
from Germany. Should it fall there would be only such
field forces a s the Belgians could scrape together t o bar
i t s way. There was no guarantee that French forces
would arrive in time and thus a small army was organized.
The Belgian army was only partially prepared in 1914. I t
lacked replacements and many of i t s men and units lacked
training and some equipment. What it lacked the most was
a plan, for the small Belgian army would not stand a
chance out in the open against the Germans. The Belgians knew nothing of the massive German siege artillery
with which the Liege forts would be reduced thus their
plans would have t o be made after the war began anyway.

Holland was in a similar position t o Belgium. There


was onc major difference in that Holland was not really
in the way of a German advance unless the Germans were
unable t o get through Liege. Even then the price to
Germany would be high a s the capture of Holland would
deny them a neutral outlet in the face of a British blockade should the war become protracted. Furthermae an invasion should tie up valuable troops needed f a the
plunge through Belgium into France.

MOBILIZATION
The first half of August was taken up by the mobilization of the armies. Although a s t a t e of war existed between France and Germany since the beginning of ~~~~~t
neither nation was able t o launch any serious operations
until mobilization was complete. Within 24 hours of the
beginning of mobilization each side had i t s "covering
forces", troops kept a t nearly full strength on the b a d e r
during peacetime, ready on the border. For the French
these covering forces comprised five corps and seven
cavalry divisions. For the Germans it consisted of seven
corps and ten cavalry divisions, although the cavalry
divisions came t o the border over a period of a week.
The function of these forces was mainly t o protect t h e
mobilization of the rest of the army, which would occur
just behind the border. These units, as well a s the
mobilizing ones, could not engage in any raids or
similar operations until mobilization was complete
because the supply units, which were reserve units and
not attached t o the corps in peace time, were the l a s t
ones t o reach the mobilizing units. Despite this both the
French and the Germans engaged in some operations
before the completion of mobilization. The Germans
sought t o s e i z e Liege while the French attempted t o
occupy the mountainous portion of Alsace south of
Strassburg. The Germans failed because they miscalculated the defensive power of machine guns and artillery.
The tenacity of the well protected Belgian fortress t r o o p
was expected although the Germans only anticipated a
small peacetime garrison. The Belgians had mobilized
their fortress t r o o p faster than the Germans could get
their assault troops t o Liege. The German heavy siege
guns were not yet ready, they were not scheduled t o b e
ready until late 1914, and thus the Germans were able
t o seize only one of the Liege forts with infantry alone.
The French operation failed mainly because of the lack
of supply support and of a massive effort. The German

covering troops threw back the multibrigade French


probe. All in all, operations before the completion of
mobilization were usually . a failure. Mobilization itself
was simply the execution of a massive, carefully prepared railroad mwement plan. Both sides completed their
mobilization by August 14 with the exception of a few
minor units. It was impoesible to change plans during
mobilization itself because d the complexity of the
railroad mwement operations with their time tables and
schedules.

T H E ASSAULT
The four maw on the following pages show graphically how the original campaign developed. The course of
the battle is simple to describe, particularly if you are
familiar with the play d the game.
From the 14th to the 19th two offensives began
simultaneously. In the north the massive German right
wing plunged through Belgium. The French Third and
Fourth armies, which were t o attack north of Metz, were
stopped cold before they were even able to get their
attack df the ground. In the south the French First and
Second armies began their advance into Alsace. It was
stopped by the rough terrain a s much as by the defending
German troops.
Between August 20th and 25th the French came to the
conclusion that plan 17 wasn't going to work. The French
FiRh m y was shifted n d h where it was knocked aside
by the &man Second and Third armies. The German
First army. after bottling up the Belgian army in Antwerp,
now pushed back the BEF. The constant French attacks
and counter attacks during this period had reduced many
French units to half strength. The French army was now
wakened and outflanked. There was only one thing left

to do - retreat. BY waging a skillful delaying action the


French began to pull back unmolested.
Between the 26th and 31st the French 'Ought to
strengthen their left wing to offset the German advantage
there. They were aided in this by the German insistance
on trying to break through in .Lorraine as well a s in
Belgium. The ease with which the Germans repulsed the
French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine ignited hope that
they might be able to envelop both wings of the French
army. Unfortunately the Germans soon ran into the
French fortifications as well as the ridge like e s c a r p
ments which guarded eastern France. A furious battle
developed around Verdun and the heights of Nancy. The
French line held and the reinforcements which the German
right wing was to have received instead went t o support
the futile attacks in the south. This was the German
mistake, and it cost them the war.
Between the first and sixth of September the Battle
of the Marne developed. The Germans, with a weakened
(by half a dozen corps) right wing, were now closing on
Paris. The French, however, were ready. Having moved
forces from the south front to the Paris area they were
able to attack the dangling German right flank as it swept
past Paris. The Germans realized the danger of their
position and pulled back. They also had bad news from
the eastern front. Thus the advance in the west was over.

POSTSCR lPT
There followed in the latter part of September a "race
to the sea" a s each side sought to outflank the others
exposed flank. But the two armies were too evenly
matched. A trench line was soon established from the
channel to the Swiss border. It moved no more than 10
miles (one mapboard square; either way for over thirty

months. The Germans attempted one more offensive with


some newly raised corps in late october.
This B~~~~~of
Ypres also failed in the face of machine guns and rapid
fire artillery. The war then stagnated for a number of
months until the peace time ammunition stocks, now
exhausted, could be replenished.

THE "GREAT" WAR


World War I was the greatest disaster of the twentieth
century. Not only did it maim an entire generation of
European manhood, i t also laid the groundwork for nazism
and world wide communism. The financial cost of the war
was directly responsible for the series of economic depressions during the twenties. When one considers that
we are still suffering from the after effects of World War
I1 you can easily s e e what we owe t o the mistakes made
during the Summer of 1914.
But perhaps the most damaging effect of the war, and
one not werly emphasized, was the loss of manpower.
For ALL men aged 20 to 40 in 1914 the following losses
were incurred between 1914 and 1918.
Germany

17% killed

16% maimed

out of 9.7 million

Austria

15%

14%

out of 6.1 million

France

24%

out of 5.9 million

Britain

13%

out of 6 million

Belgium

34%

out of .8 million

Russia

13%

out of 17 million

These lasses, from which many nations have obviously not recovered, could only have been prevented if a
decisive victory was won in 1914. Could it have been
won? Play the game and find out.

FRENCH P L A N 17 The purpose of the plan was to liberate


Alsace-Lorraine. The 5th Army had a double mission. Should the
Germans come through Belgium the 5th Army, would advance to
Nomur and stop them. The French d i d not believe that the Germans had enough troops to advance north of Namur.

GERMAN 1914 P L A N The obiective of the plan was to turn the


flank o f the French army by advancing through north Belgium.
The battle had to be won by mid-September so that units could be
shifted to the eastern front to face the advancing Russians.

ORIGINAL MOBILIZATION PLANS. The original deployment o f the armies i n August, 1914, i s shown above. Units are depicted
as they would look on the mobilization charts. The symbols used are those used on the mobilization charts.

SITUATION MAPS. Only active and reserve corps are shown (for the most part). U n i t codes from the mobilization chart are used to
designate units. Units are shown at f u l l strength throughout the campaign although many were at h a l f strength or less before the
campaign ended.

AUGUST 14-19 Positions as of the 19th. Germans bottle up the


Belgian Army i n Antwerp and continue to sweep towards the
French border. The French shift their 5th army towards Namur i n
an attempt to cut off the German advance.

AUGUST 20-25 Positions as of the 25th. British (BEF) land and


are driven out of Belgium along with the French. French attacks
i n the south f a i l and French decide that Plan 17 w i l l not work.
General A l l i e d retreat begins.

AUGUST 26-31 Positions as of the 31st. The A l l i e s fall back to


the Marne. French rebuild their depleted units with replacements
while the advancing Germans are unable to do the same. Many
German units are at half strength.

SEPTEMBER 1-6 Positions as of' the 6th. Germans race past


Paris. The A l l i e s hit the exposed German flank. The Germans
pull back to defend their exposed flank. Both sides race to the
sea i n a vain attempt to outflank each other. Both sides dig in.

The following list contains the major sources used,


a s well a s some of the better popular accounts which are
available in paperback version. Not all sources are listed,
only the major ones.
GERMAN OFFICIAL HISTORY
DER WELTKRIEG. Reichsarchiv. Band I. 11-IV (on the war in the west in 1914).
Band I1 (the war in the e a s t 1914). KRIEGSEISENBAHNTECHNM, KRIEGSRUSTUNG
UND WIRTSHAFT (two volumes on r a i l r o a d s and w a r t i m e m a t e r i a l and equipment).
FRENCH OFFICIAL &TORY
LES ARMEES FRANCAIS DANS LE GRANDE GUERRE. Ministere de I a G u e r r e .
Tome I, vol 1-3 (the w a r in the west 1914). Tome IX. vol 3 (the situation in North
Africa). Tome X ( o r d e r of battle). Tome XI ( m a t e r i a l and equipment).
BRITISH OFFICIAL HISTORY
MILITARY OPERATIONS: FRANCE AND BELGIUM 1914. J E Edmonds. Vol 1-2.
BAVARIAN OFFICIAL HISTORY
DIE SCHLACHT IN LOTHRINGEN UND IN DEN VOCESEN. Bayerisches KriegsarchivBand 1-111.
TECHNICAL SOURCES
OFFICIAL MEDICAL HISTORY O F THE WAR (British). MEDICAL STATISTICS,
M a r c h & Smith.
F I E L D ARTILLERY MANUAL. Vol I1 (1936). TACTICS & TECHNIQUE. U.S. GPO
TERMINAL BALLISTICS. Vol 1-111. Chief of Ordnance. U. S. GPO
TACTICS. Vol I-U (1912) G e n e r a l d e r Infanterie Balck.
DEVELOPMENT O F TACTICS DURING THE WAR, G e n e r a l d e r Infanterie Balck.
THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL. May-June 1935. "Orzanization. Armament.
Ammunition and Ammunition ~ x p e n d i t u r e iof the G e r m a n h e l d A r t i l l e r y ~ u r i n g .
the World War". G e n e r a l d e r A r t i l l e r i e Van Alfred Muther.
INFANTRY IN BATTLE. George C Marshal.
LESSONS IN FORTIFICATIONS (1917). The Engineer School (USA)
THE AGE O F GREAT GUNS. F E C o m p a r a t o
MEN AGAINST FIRE. S L A M a r s h a l
DAS EHRENBUCH DER DEUTSCHEN SCHWEREN ARTILLERIE
LA VIE D' UNE ARMEE PENDANT LA GRANDE GUERRE. Pellegrin.
A HISTORY O F FIREARMS, P o l l a r d
THE R I F L E IN WAR (1906). H E E a m e s .
DE NEDERLANDSCHE STRIJDMACHT. Kooiman.
DIRECT AND INDLRECT COSTS O F THE GREAT WAR. Carnegie Endowment for
International P e a c e ( E L Bogart).
THE GREAT WAR, Vol XI. G H Allen e t a1
MILITARY HISTORY O F THE WAR. McEntee.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC MAP O F EUROPE. A K Lobeck
TOPOGRAPHY AND STRATEGY IN THE WAR. D Johnson
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT O F FRANCE & GERMANY. Clapham
TIMES HISTORY O F THE WAR, London T i m e s , vol 1.2.
CAMPAIGN O F THE MARNE. S Tyng
TRANSPORTATION ON THE WESTERN FRONT ( B r i t i s h Official History)
LES CHEMINS DE FER FRANCAIS E T LA GUERRE. Le Henaff
AUFMARSCH NACH ZWEI FRONTEN (1925). G e n e r a l d e r Infanterie van
Staabs.

TWO GOOD POPULAR HISTORIES AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK


THE GUNS O F AUGUST. Truchman
THE SWORDBEARERS, C Barnett

GLOSSARY

These a r e the abbreviations used on t h e


U n i t Counters.

AL

- A r t i l l e r i e lourde, heavy a r t i l l e r y (LZOmm & 155mm) ineffective against f o r t s .

-Active (Regular) a r m y troops. These units contained about 40% r e s e r v i s t s .

B, Bav

-Bavarian troops. Bavaria was a p a r t of the G e r m a n E m p i r e but had it^ own king.

CD'A

- C h a s s e u r s dlAfrique. native a f r i c a n light c a v a l r y s e r v i n g in the F r e n c h a r m y .

CHAS

- C h a s s e u r s , light infantry used mainly in rough t e r r a i n and mountains.

COL

-Colonial troops. a combination of F r e n c h and native t r o o p s - Regular a r m y .

DA

-Dutch Army.

- E r s a t z (replacement) troops. These replacement t r o o p s w e r e organized into units.

EB

-Eisenbahn Bautruppen, railway l a b o r troops. Repaired d e ~ t r o y e dr a i l lines.

FR

-Festung R e s e r v e ( F o r t r e s s R e a e r v e ) troops. Used a mobile g a r r i s o n f o r f o r t r e s s e s .

GD

- T h e P r u s s i a n Guard, e l i t e t r o o p s who proved no b e t t e r than o t h e r troop.

GD R

- T h e P r u s s i a n Guard Reserve. a c o r p s of half active and half remerve t r o o p s .

in battle.

IN

-Indian troops. One third of these units w e r e B r i t i s h t r o o p s . Active a r m y .

IT

-Italian troops. According t o t r e a t y t h e ~ et r o o p s w e r e to aid the G e r m a n s in the


event of war. In the original campaign the Italians decided to r e m a i n n e u t r a l a t firmt.

LE

-Legion E s t r a n g e (Foreign Legion), foreign t r o o p s s e r v i n g a s F r e n c h r e g u l a r s .

LW

-Landwehr, German second line (33 to 42 y e a r s old) r e s e r v e t r o o p s .

-Marine troops. Many of these w e r e actually naval r e s e r v i s t s .

MOR

-Moroccan troops. native s o l d i e r s merving i n the F r e n c h a r m y .

-Naval troops. s a i l o r s who volunteered to fight a s infantry.

NR

- ~ e w
R e ~ e r v etroops. The G e r m a n s organized new r e s e r v e units in August, they
w e r e ready i n October.
- R e s e r v e troops. f o r both a r m i e s they w e r e m e n just out of the r e g u l a r a r m y i n
t h e i r late twenties o r e a r l y t h i r t i e s .
-Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade, a native indian brigade s e r v i n g in the B r i t i s h a r m y .
-Spahis, native cavalry brigade s e r v i n g i n the F r e n c h a r m y .
- T e r r i t o r i a l troop., in the F r e n c h a r m y they w e r e the second line ( m e n i n t h e i r l a t e
twentie. m d e a r l y t h i r t i e s ) of r e s e r v e s . In the B r i t i s h a r m y they w e r e the f i r s t line
of r e s e r v e s .

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